An American soldier guards an Osprey as it lands in Zaranj, Nimroz province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 30, 2011.UPI

One US special operations soldier was killed and another was wounded while fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan on Tuesday, a US defense official confirmed to Fox News.

When a US military “medevac” helicopter landed in Helmand province in the city of Marjah to get wounded US and Afghan troops out of the area, the helicopter sustained damage when mortars landed nearby.

The helicopter was grounded due to damage sustained in the attack.

A third American wounded in the attack was not a special ops soldier and was suspected to have come from the helicopter.

A US Army spokesman told Reuters that the helicopter suffered mechanical malfunctions.